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Lungbarrow Brothers Productions
"The Lungbarrow Brothers" is the name used by Jed Rhodes and A. Treasure for their film production group. The duo are based in the Pontefract/Castleford area of Yorkshire, and to date have completed eight episodes of Doctor Who, as well as one short episode. Further episodes are planned. The name “Lungbarrow Brothers” was selected by the duo as a Doctor Who reference that was vaguely obscure (and therefore less likely to have been used) as well as for the tradition of “Brothers” partnerships in film-making. The name was also chosen partly for it’s ironic nature (anyone familiar with Lungbarrow will know that "Lungbarrow brothers" could not actually exist due to the looming system). Format The fan series features both Treasure’s Xth Doctor, and Rhodes’ Nth Doctor, with the two meeting in the initial episode, “Encounter”. The following episodes alternate between the two, "Emma" featuring the Nth Doctor and "Hunted" featuring the Xth. This alternating format will continue for the remaining episodes. Most of the stories done by the duo have been short, between 7-10 minutes. This was a deliberate creative decision, made partially for accessibility reasons so that there weren't multiple parts of a story for the audience to wade through, and the YouTube browsing audience did not flag, but also for reasons owing to lack of time and budget (to wit, it takes longer to film a 20 minute episode than a 10 minute episode). Partially due to the length, but also due to lack of available actors, there are no regular companions - this saves on time because adequate dialogue does not have to be written for a second lead. It is implied that Emma and Isabelle - the Nth and Xth Doctors' companions respectively, in the episodes so far shown - were, at least in-universe, "main" companions (the equivalent to Jo for the Third Doctor or Tegan for the Fifth, as it were), however Emma exits in the eponymous "Emma", and Isabelle leaves in "Hunted": we effectively catch them both at the end of their time in the TARDIS. There are very few other actors called upon, with some episodes almost totally solo affairs, such as “After Hastings” and "The Girl In The Box". However, the special episode "Dark Impulses" again makes use of Emma as a companion for the Nth Doctor, ostensibly set earlier in their time together. Formation of the Duo The Lungbarrow Brothers were formed when A. Treasure, an amateur film maker with some short film experience to his name, and a keen Doctor Who fan, approached his friend Jed Rhodes, a drama student, amateur writer, and fellow keen Doctor Who fan who had previously harboured (ultimately fruitless) ambitions to produce a fan film, with an idea for a short “Two Doctors” style meet up film that would eventually become “Encounter”. The two quickly decided that they would each play a separate incarnation of the Doctor. A script by Rhodes was quickly written up, and between them, the two redrafted it several times. While in the process of doing so, Rhodes mooted the idea of sequels, keen to continue making films. This discussion quickly transmogrified into a plan for a series of short films featuring their two incarnations of the Doctor battling various foes and having various adventures. At the same time, Rhodes drafted a "series arc" to lend some weight to the stories, creating the current "mysterious voices" arc. Initially planning several series of eight episodes each, the duo reigned in their plans to the current stock of sixteen. Production Roles Both Treasure and Rhodes act and write the episodes, and the episodes they do not write, they script edit. Treasure has the sole task of directing, sound designing, and editing the episodes, as well as occasional casting duties (the Master, the Drone, and Isabelle, as well as some future roles). Treasure also built the Lungbarrow Brothers' chief set piece (and the one they are proudest of), their TARDIS control room (see "Control Room"): he designed and built the console, as well as arranging the scanner screen and roundels. In addition he is responsible for painting and customising the various screwdrivers, and overseeing other construction jobs for props and set as and when necessary. Rhodes meanwhile, has the comparatively easy task of arranging the music for every episode, which involves both the composition of main themes for characters and the individual, second by second scoring of each episode. Control Room When deciding to make a full series, between them, the two friends quickly realised they would need (somehow) to show the TARDIS control room. With both certain that they would prefer a practical set over a green-screen one, Rhodes initially mooted a more modest affair than the finished article: merely a table with arranged parts, odds and ends. However, Treasure was not sold on this concept and so decided that he would construct a complete console. Initially based on the "secondary control room" design of the Tom Baker era, the first variant of the console featured a plasma globe as well as a crank lever, various adapted buttons, and one panel with a choice of two sets of controls; a type writer and a modified keyboard. The second variant of the console - made necessary by the unfortunate theft of many important components of the first sometime after the filming of "Code Red" - features the typewriter, a larger plasma globe, several LED lights installed throughout the main console and another LED light placed inside a glass vase for the Time Rotor. The rest of the control room is actually a garage, with roundels modified from chair seats, and a scanner taken from an old computer monitor, that is linked up to an (unseen) power cable to give it power (and therefore make it a working screen for scanner shots). Episodes Encounter Cast The Xth Doctor: A. Treasure. The Nth Doctor: Jed T. E. Rhodes. Isabelle: Amelia Treasure. Emma: Sue Prosser. Story and Production Standing as an experiment in the craft of making Doctor Who for the duo as well as an introduction to the two Doctors, Encounter has no antagonist as such, the two Doctors instead merely discussing the enemies they are seeking. The basic plot involves the two Doctors, looking through a wood, ostensibly seeking out their opponents, and discussing themselves, their companions (or in the Xth Doctor’s case, lack thereof) and which enemies they are facing. As well as featuring the Xth and Nth Doctors, it also featured their companions Emma (the Nth Doctor’s companion, played by Sue Prosser) and Isabelle (as played by Amelia Treasure). Before principle photography began, A. Treasure and Rhodes collaborated on the creation of a Doctor Who logo, incorporating the shape of a TARDIS negativised. The two also collaborated on the creation of a "visual howlaround" effect title sequence similar to the 1960's and early 70's title sequences. The logo and title sequence were both created in this way as opposed to the mooted "ripped" footage of a time vortex from YouTube and the "Doctor Who Confidetial" logo, as it felt more original to the duo, and they wished this to be a piece that lacked no effort. Similarly, Rhodes was asked to provide a rendition of the Doctor Who theme, which both felt was more unique to their work than the use of a pre-existing version. After toying with the idea of having two theme music renditions, one for each Doctor (specifically an electric guitar version for Treasure's Doctor and a church-organ, harp, bells and choir version for Rhodes'), Rhodes and Treasure decided that the "hybrid" version Rhodes created for the then multiple episodes where the two appeared together was sufficient for all episodes, having more "power" than the separate versions. Principle photography on “Encounter” itself was done on two separate days, the first being the main block of shooting including the main conversation between the two Doctors, the second being a day with pickup shots as well as rerecording certain lines and beginning filming on "Hunted". Notably, the episode features the TARDIS materialisation - this was achieved using a forced perspective shot of a Character Options TARDIS toy used for the materialisation, achieved by mixing two still shots in the edit. A TARDIS-blue shirt was used to represent the TARDIS exterior up close, so that the Xth Doctor's exit from the TARDIS could be filmed - this is a prime example of the camera trickery that is used by the Lungbarrow Brothers to achieve success in their filming endeavours. Afterwards, finding the episode overlong for their purposes, the duo cut certain elements of the conversation, including commentary on the Doctor's respective outfits, the Nth Doctor commenting on his hair colour, and some of the pre-credits sequence involving the scanning of trees. These scenes will be released later in a "deleted scenes" video. In addition, finding sound quality less than perfect on certain shots, specifically shots where the camera was far away from the pair while they were speaking, the duo added ADR dialogue over most of the wide shots, the addition of which delayed the final release of "Encounter" by about two weeks. The soundtrack is notable for being the only soundtrack so far to feature Murray Gold's original incidental music - "Monster Bossa" and "Gridlocked Cassinis" are both used in the teaser. The remainder of the soundtrack, including the theme tune, is music composed by Jed Rhodes on a Yamaha Synthesiser. Most of these themes, such as "The Nth Doctor's Theme," "Strange Happenings," "Emma's Theme," and "Isabelle's Theme", were pre-recorded by Rhodes as general themes to be added to the episode, but there are also several small covers of Gold's themes, such as "A Pressing Need To Save The World" and "The Cybermen". These were each separate tracks, added to the episode via a "chart" system, which was deemed inefficient compared to the second-by-second scoring method that was implemented to replace it from Emma onwards. "Encounter" was released on YouTube on the 13th of May 2011, and has so far garnered mostly positive reviews. Emma Cast The Doctor: Jed T. E. Rhodes. Emma: Sue Prosser. The Master: Aidan Eustace. The Drone: Craig Connell. Story and Production Emma is the second episode of the series released. It is a more plot heavy adventure, featuring two distinct strands - the "present" strand, where a melancholy Nth Doctor follows Emma, whom he is surprised to see, throughout the back alleys of a town, and the "flashback" strand, where the Master, portrayed ably by Aiden Eustace, pursues the Doctor and Emma, threatening them with "the Drone", his latest weapon, played by Craig Connell. "Emma" is notable for introducing the "Mysterious Voices" arc to the series. Although it was the second episode released, "Emma" was actually filmed after shooting for Hunted's teaser was complete, and was not at first the intended second episode. However, filming on "Hunted" was delayed and "Emma"'s filming was moved up. Principle photography on the "flashback" sections was completed first at Pontefract Castle. After this, Jed Rhodes had a haircut, and returned to film the "present" sections with what was jokingly called the "emo Doctor" haircut, since it was reminiscent of the notably melancholy Ninth Doctor's shorter hair. The present sections are notable for featuring the first TARDIS interior shots of Lungbarrow Brothers' series. "Emma" retains the title sequence and theme tune arrangement of "Encounter", however the incidental music is almost entirely composed by Jed Rhodes, with a few small cover versions of Gold themes inserted, notably chunks of "A Pressing Need To Save The World", "I Am The Doctor," and "The Master Tape". It also includes several key themes from Rhodes's initial compositions for the series, including "The Master Anthem," a sweeping rock and roll/metal tune that is at times converted into a strings arrangement, designed as a "leitmotif" for the Master during his more triumphant moments, as well as "Emma's Theme," the theme that opens the first "Flashback" section and is at times slow and melancholic, at other times fast and powerful, "Depression For The Doctor," a key, slow, doom laden tune that permeates both the "present" and "flashback" sections, and at the end, "Cold Hearted Observer" is the repeated pair of electric guitar notes with a high pitched descending melody heard as the Doctor walks away. No major cuts were made to "Emma" from the material filmed. ADR included the Mysterious Voices, but apart from that it was felt that all sound was sufficiently audible. "Emma" was released on YouTube on the 26th of August 2011. It has garnered a slightly more mixed response but is still overall positively received. Hunted Cast The Doctor: A. Treasure. Isabelle: Amelia Treasure. Domari238 (voice): Russ Goodall. Story and Production Hunted is the third episode, and is a heavily action based piece. The first third of the episode has the Doctor running from Domari238 (voiced by Russ Goodall), a Reaper of the Scion Order, a clone split off from a race known as the Elders. Domari238 is never shown, and only his POV - black and white, upped contrast, with a suggestion of a more advanced HUD system - is seen. The episode also sees the departure of the Isabelle character. Originally slated to be the second episode, "Hunted" began filming during the second day of "Encounter" shooting, with A. Treasure swapping into his "running" outfit and filming his run through the woods, as well as significant chunks of Domari238's POV. Further filming was planned for later that same week, but at this point, due to the inability to find a decent time for filming, work on Hunted ceased for the time being, and other episodes were filmed and planned in the meantime. Hunted had brief segments of filming completed on two separate days, one dedicated to TARDIS interior shots for another episode and one dedicated to exterior shots for two more episodes. However, in the week beginning 19th of September, in a rush to get as much completed material as possible before Jed Rhodes began university, Treasure and Rhodes managed to complete principal photography of "Hunted". Among the interesting elements to note in Hunted is the altered costume the Xth Doctor sports. This was partially inspired by an unrealised plot point (see Unrealised Ideas), but from a more practical perspective, the leather coat flaps more "dramatically" as the actor runs than the grey greatcoat Treasure wore for "Encounter". The intention is for Treasure to swap between the leather coat and the greatcoat for different episodes. The editing for the episode features another appearance by the TARDIS exterior toy: this time live forced perspective shots are used for the dematerialisation as opposed to still ones, and the Doctor is seen to enter the TARDIS through the door in another forced perspective shot - this time, the TARDIS toy serves for the closeup as well. The music for "Hunted" features a church-organ voice, a very deliberate decision on Rhodes' part, designed to evoke a gothic feel for the Scion Order, here represented by Domari238. It features heavy reference to "All The Strange, Strange Creatures" (and by extension, "A Pressing Need To Save The World") by Murray Gold, but also features a brief quote of "This Is Gallifrey", again by Gold, as well as Rhodes' own "Bring In The Win," the Xth Doctor's triumph motif, "Isabelle's Theme" when Domari238 is defeated, and "The Journey" as Isabelle and the Doctor walk in the woods. Small cuts were made to the episode, notably the removal of a handful of running shots from the teaser. ADR included the Domari238 voice and the voice of Isabelle, who is, as part of the Elders Species, a telepath. "Hunted" was released on the 16th of October 2011. As with “Emma”, feedback has appeared slightly mixed but overall has remained positive, with praise going to the POV effect especially. After Hastings Cast The Nth Doctor: Jed T. E. Rhodes. The Xth Doctor: A. Treasure. Story and Production In contrast to the heavily action based “Hunted,” “After Hastings” is a sedate affair, concerning the Nth Doctor’s emotional state shortly after the loss of his companion Emma. The Doctor, fleeing from the battle of Hastings in 1066 (having attempted to attend a “recreation day” implied to have been in 1966, judging from the Doctor’s “9 and 0 have been swapped on the typewriter” dialogue), discovers an old file of the Xth Doctor’s Emergency Program One (implied to be the work of the TARDIS attempting to aid him) and then the TARDIS is dragged off course by the mysterious voices (previously heard over the end of "Emma") who deposit the Doctor on an unknown planet which he sets off to explore. Throughout, the Doctor begins speaking to a companion before remembering there is not one there. There were two primary segments of filming for “After Hastings” – the exterior sequences, together with other work, were completed in August, with the Doctor fleeing from the mob through the countryside. The interior sequences were completed in Rhodes’ last week before leaving for university, where the Doctor was in the TARDIS. With the gracious help of Richard Gregg, a friend of Rhodes’, who provided the hologram-Nth’s coat in order to differentiate him from the Nth sitting down, the sequence was completed. Some of the now-staple effects of the series, such as the use of a forced perspective shot, return. Of note is the first sight of the Time Vortex in the series outside of the title sequence – on the scanner screen. This is a reuse of the basic title sequence footage. Of especial note in the effects regard should be the effect used for the holograms – the shot was crossfaded with the same space, but empty, and some filters were applied over the voices of the two actors. Judicious use of editing also made the “jumping” effect of the images, most notable in the Nth Doctor’s hologram. This “jumping” allowed the idea that both of these files were underused and/or degraded - dead data that had been there some time. Of some note to the detail-obsessed viewer should be minor physical alterations to the TARDIS – the interior of the TARDIS is considerably brighter than in "Emma", partially because the Doctor is no longer quite as much in the throes of a deep depression as he was in that episode but also because it was felt by both Rhodes and Treasure that the TARDIS in “Emma” was perhaps a shade too dark. Also of note is the Nth Doctor’s costume in this episode, with three variations noted – the corduroy trousers are different to the ones he has previously been seen in, he swaps from the three-quarter-length raincoat to the brown suit jacket and he is seen (in hologram form) to wear a dark green coat vaguely reminiscent of the coat he wore in his Eleventh incarnation. In addition to this, we hear a faint "binary" noise when he holds his sonic screwdrivr up to his ear, to explain this method of garnering results from the device. The music in this episode combines several themes previously used with some new ones. Murray Gold’s work continues to be quoted, with “The Doctor’s Theme” quoted near the end of the piece, and “All the Strange, Strange Creatures” covered during the flight through the vortex. However, for perhaps the first time in a Lungbarrow Brothers episode, the vast majority of the music heard is in fact original music composed by Jed Rhodes, including his Xth Doctor’s theme, Emma’s theme, Cold Hearted Observer, and the composition entitled “A Pleasant Stroll (some recreation day)” that opens the episode. The use of an accordion voice during parts of the music lends a unique, almost rustic air to the piece that fits in well with the battle of Hastings era the TARDIS departs. Very few cuts were made to the episode – the Xth Doctor’s hologram originally shut itself off rather than the Doctor doing so. The episode was released, after some final sound tweaks, on the 30th of November 2011. It has so far garnered a positive response. The Girl In The Box Cast The Doctor: A. Treasure. The Girl: Mary Iveson. The Victim: Louis R. E. Story and Production "The Girl In The Box" is heavily based on a Japanese Horror, "creepy-dead-chick" style of film, in both its style and villain: it centres around the Doctor apprehending an entity - shown in the form of the eponymous "Girl" - who has been killing innocents. After a brief battle in her lair (a children's playhouse that has different dimensions on the inside) the Doctor apprehends her in the Zalikian Crystalline Binding Matrix he acquired from Domari238 in "Hunted", which he then places in a box: the action then shifts to the TARDIS, three months later, where the Doctor is endeavouring to find a more permanent way to bind the Girl. He is plagued by her voice, whispering in his ear. After a brief tense moment with a phone call (which turns out to be one "Admiral Blake" calling him to investigate a temporal anomaly) he decides he's "wasted enough time" and hides the Girl and her box away. The first segment of filming completed was that of the Girl's inner sanctum, sometime before the filming of "Emma". The remaining work necessary was that of the exterior of the Girl's lair, which was completed in September 2011. While this was initially the vast bulk of the episode, both Treasure and Rhodes agreed that more was necessary, so a sequence was added of the victim, and a second sequence was shot in the TARDIS set (which was very cold, it being the dead of winter by this point!) which brought the episode to 11 minutes in length. The episode is remarkably effects free, most of the filming being achieved with night shot and quick editing (especially apparent in the brief appearance of the Girl before the lights go out in her lair). Unlike the previous two episodes the exterior of the TARDIS does not appear. The Girl is never explicitly identified as being anything - while the Doctor refers to knowing what she is and "why you're here", he does not elaborate. This is deliberate, as neither Treasure nor Rhodes wanted the mystery of the Girl to be compromised. The TARDIS interior is notably darker in its appearance - the intention being to make it "creepier". The effect is achieved through judicious use of various lamps. The Doctor is shown once again in his footman's greatcoat for the first half of the episode. In the second half he is wearing a dark shirt with a White t-shirt underneath, and is sporting considerably longer hair and a beard. The music for the piece consists of two pre-recorded tracks - "The Slow Path" and "The Xth Doctor Remembers" - and a variety of sounds including the "goblins" voice and the "warp" sfx, as well as what Rhodes refers to as the "string wibble". As opposed to the more closely Gold-esque soundtracks of previous episodes, the soundtrack for this episode, including that of the confrontation, is sparse and electronic, an effort of Rhodes' to make the episode more atmospheric. For the vast majority of the confrontation, the soundtrack was meticulously timed in order to have various elements, including the string wibble, match what was happening on screen. Nothing was cut from the completed episode, which was released on the 14th of February 2012, the first episode to be released in this year. It has so far received a positive response. Code Red Cast The Nth Doctor: Jed T. E. Rhodes. The Xth Doctor: A. Treasure. Elisabeth Adams: Karina Eustace. Wexel (voice): Chris Moules. Emma: Sue Prosser. Story and Production "Code Red" mainly focuses on the Nth Doctor's encounter with his old friend Elisabeth Adams (played by Karina Eustace) and his efforts to solve a murder, but the story told by this episode is that of Wexel (voiced by Chris Moules), who is a 'Code Red' - a victim of Cyber-technology, transformed into a data-stream and trapped in the Doctor's TARDIS, capable of following him. In this story, we see various moments from the Nth Doctor's life, from his "birth", regenerating from his previous self, to his meeting Meglos, first encounter with Emma, and battles against Cybermen and rogue robots. Wexel, over the course of these adventures, turns from Cyberman servant dedicated to the Doctor's destruction to ally, who saves the Doctor's life by disarming a bomb - dissipating the last of his own essence in the process. "Code Red" began life as "Hub of the Cybermen", a short story involving the Doctor confronting the Cybermen in their base of operations. The entirety of this episode was filmed and still exists, and may be released later. That the finished "Code Red" is the longest episode yet completed by the Lungbarrow Brothers is almost accidental, and came about through the various discussions that followed. The first filming done for what was "Hub of the Cybermen" was completed on the same day as the "present day" footage from "Emma". The entire first script was completed. Subsequently, both Rhodes and Treasure debated whether this footage was "up to scratch" - the static, conversation bound nature of the footage was a problem, and both Rhodes and Treasure felt that Rhodes' performance was not up to his usual standard as well. Subsequently, a concept called the "channel hopping" concept, utilising the arc of the "Mysterious Voices" (also seen - or rather, heard - in "Emma" and "After Hastings") was conceived, in which various short clips would be shown, linked by the mysterious voices (the "Observers") deciding what they wished to watch. With this concept in mind, various short clips were filmed. However, Treasure was concerned that this concept was weak, and so at a late stage a replacement concept - that of Wexel's story - was created by Rhodes and fleshed out by Treasure, who added in Adams, a character previously intended for use in a now un-filmed episode. The Adams footage was filmed in late Spring of 2012. The character of Elisabeth Adams was always intended to appear in the Nth Doctor's run (his equivalent of the Brigadier). Initially the character was meant to appear in a story called "Human Sample" which has since been dropped from the run (although the story itself was briefly mentioned in the finished "Code Red" when Adams mentions the "Andromedan Robot") - it was Treasure's idea to return the character to the series in this episode, where her deductive abilities are evinced. The character may appear in further episodes. "Code Red"'s music score contains mostly original music composed by Rhodes - the opening theme, "I Needed The Distraction", is one of both Rhodes and Treasure's favourite compositions, containing amongst other things a slowed-down version of the "Flight to the Sun" motif, as well as quoting both "The Nth Doctor's Theme" and "The Master Anthem" (the latter in an audio flashback to "Emma"). The most obvious cuts to the episode were the majority of the original "Hub of the Cybermen" scenes, which will possibly be released later as part of a "cut footage" feature. The episode was released on the 30th of June 2012. It has currently received positive response. Dalek, Interrupted Cast The Xth Doctor: A. Treasure. The Nth Doctor (voice): Jed T. E. Rhodes. Admiral Blake: Chris Goddard. Dalek Voice: Terry Gold. Story and Production “Dalek, Interrupted” sees the Xth Doctor face off against a single Dalek spacecraft that is forcing its way from the void. During this conflict, the Doctor is briefly teleported to another place in space and time, where the mysterious voices (referred to in narration done by the Nth Doctor as “Observers”) discuss him, deciding that he is “from a bit earlier than they meant” and sending him back to the TARDIS to face the Daleks, memory of his time with them wiped. The Doctor finishes his conflict with the Daleks but is left feeling something is amiss as he flies the TARDIS away. “Dalek, Interrupted” was one of the first scripts written, and although it has gone through several permutations, it has essentially not changed. The first filming for this episode was done in Summer 2011, both in the fields near Castleford some walk from A. Treasure’s abode, and on the Lungbarrow Brother’s recently completed TARDIS set. This filming was completed relatively quickly as initially “Dalek, Interrupted” was scheduled to be earlier in the run. When the finished episode turned out to be relatively short (the footage coming in at approximately 7 minutes) and other episodes – especially “Code Red” – turned out to be longer, both Rhodes and Treasure were briefly concerned that the finished “Dalek, Interrupted” would not be long enough to be considered “up to scratch”. With this in mind, there were several efforts made to make some extension to the episode. Eventually, the duo settled on Rhodes’ Doctor narrating the episode, which slightly extended the end – this also helped alleviate the sense that Treasure’s Doctor was getting cameo’s in Rhodes’ episodes without Rhodes getting similar cameos in Treasure’s. The Dalek voice used is credited as being “Terry Gold”, who was also credited as being the writer of “Code Red”. It is actually a ring-modulated version of Jed Rhodes’ voice – “Terry Gold” is a pseudonym used by the duo, created for “Code Red” when the two realised that there was no clear sign who had written the complete episode. The voice effect itself was created using the radio equipment at Hull University’s Drama Department. “Dalek, Interrupted”’s music score contains a cover of the Dalek theme from “Evolution of the Daleks”, as well as a brief quotation of the “Death to the Daleks” Dalek theme as well. Otherwise, there are the usual musical compositions used in the Xth Doctor’s run, including “Bring in the Win” and the “Hunted” running version of the Xth Doctor’s theme. There is also a rendition of the “Observer” music called “The Observer Field” , of which two versions were done; one as used featured synthesised timpani drums, whereas the alternative featured the use of a synthetic drum kit. There was a brief cut made to the first scene but otherwise the episode was released as filmed. “Dalek, Interrupted” was released on the 10th of November 2012. It has so far received a positive response. Dark Impulses Cast The Doctor: Jack Anderson, Jed T. E. Rhodes, Matthew Satchell, Anthony Treasure. Emma: Sue Prosser. Natasha: Gemma Lynch. The Brigadier: John Pearson. Julian Cope: Al Richardson. Story and Production "Dark Impulses" sees the Doctor - in his Nth, Xth, ?st and Mth incarnations - combat multiple entities spilling into our reality (and parallel realities in the same multiverse) from another multiverse that has collided with our own. Over the course of the story, they discover the startling origin of these entities - and the only way to combat them. Both Treasure and Rhodes agreed fairly early on in 2013 that doing their own special episode to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who was a must. Upon deciding this, the two immediately set to work on just how to achieve such a story. Multiple Doctors was considered an important element of the production, as was the concept of a form of other-dimensional invasion (a concept Rhodes had come up with as a baseline for another project, which was subsequently altered and fleshed out by Treasure for this story). The idea of the other dimension being itself sentient was Treasure's. Between the two of them, they refined the concept of the dimensional collision, and the things that would "leak" through, until they felt that the concept was ready: among other things the concept had to do was allow for different interpretations of the antagonists seen in the story, thus meaning that there did not need to be a "set" design. Once that was done, the two began working on the "segments" of the story themselves. Treasure's segment as the Doctor is the shortest: to accommodate the time that filming would take and the editing time as well, this was a necessary measure. Treasure crafted a story about the "Leviathan" - a monster from beyond the universe - that could never feasibly be done, but could be told as a retrospective story. Treasure filmed the entirety of that segment in one evening, speaking to camera, and then added photoshopped, semi-animated images into the film to help create a "feel" of the story itself. Rhodes' segment as the Doctor is longer, consisting mainly of TARDIS interior scenes. Rhodes wrote this segment to include the Nth Doctor's companion Emma, last seen in flashbacks in Code Red. Sue Prosser, Rhodes' fiancée, was eager to appear in more fan films and so Rhodes decided that his segment would be set earlier in his time as the Doctor. In some respects, this scene is the most ambitious, featuring an alien vista (filmed on a coal field) and a space battle (created with model Treasure enlisted the help of Jack Anderson to play one of the Doctors. Anderson had harboured ambitions to make Doctor Who fan films before, and had already developed a performance, costume and several script ideas that he now had an opportunity to use, as well as having a group of friends that he had enlisted to play the companions and villain. One of these scripts - the Julian Cope show - became the basis for his segment. This was the longest mini-story in the episode, as the script was exceptionally dialogue-heavy. Rhodes meanwhile called upon his friend Matthew Satchell to fill in the part of the fourth Doctor in the episode at rather short notice: such short notice in fact that the final costume that Satchell would wear was not completed until a mere hour before filming, with most of the outfit being assembled that morning. The script for Satchell's Doctor was (necessarily) short, as it came together at the last proverbial minute, but it retains elements previously intended for use with other actors whose ability to contribute fell through at the last minute. This episode contains more than twenty pieces of music. For the special anniversary episode, Rhodes didn't want to have the various Doctors' individual themes (which would need creating for Satchell and Anderson's Doctors) to be contradicting each other totally throughout the piece; rather, he wanted a linking theme to connect all four stories together thematically. To create this effect, he composed "Melody for the Fiftieth", a theme similar in chord progression to the other themes he had done across the series. This piece would be used throughout, linking every Doctor's mini-stories across the episode. In addition to this theme, the regular Nth and Xth's Doctors themes appear briefly in their respective segments, as does Emma's theme in the Nth Doctor's segment. As well as this, Rhodes created the "talk show theme" for the "Julian Cope Show" segments of the episode. Most importantly of all, the Doctor Who theme itself is briefly quoted in the finale of the episode set in the other multiverse, to signify the unification of the Doctors. Most of the cuts made to "Dark Impulses" were made during the scripting phase: different Doctors, played by different actors, were initially having segments written for them, but these actors fell through. Of the filmed footage, no cuts were made. The finished episode was initially penned for release on 23rd of November 2013, to coincide with the anniversary episode itself, but due to the lateness of Satchell's casting and the filming of his segment, this was deemed impossible and so the release was pushed back. The final episode was eventually released on December 2nd 2013, to generally positive feedback. Shorts The duo discussed doing "short" episodes several times; ideas that would not sustain a full episode of the series but would make excellent stories nonetheless. Although several have been considered, only one so far has been filmed and released. More are being considered. The Christmas Message Compilation, 2013-2015 Filmed as a series of 1-2 minute shorts on Jed Rhodes' iPhone, the story of this short is that the Doctor was convinced by Emma to make vlogs at Christmas - he continued this practice afterwards, resulting in several of the sequences seen in this short. Most are light-hearted glimpses of the Doctor and Emma at what is presumed to be Emma's home. One sequence however is of the Doctor on his own. This short was literally thought up and filmed in one day - Rhodes decided a short film for Christmas was a good idea and thought the mostly untapped story of Emma and the Doctor would make an excellent place to start. With the help of Sue Prosser, his fiancée, he filmed several improvised sequences of the Doctor and Emma together. Treasure edited them together for Christmas Day and released it. It has so far received a positive response. Unrealised Ideas There are many ideas the two have had (mostly the sometimes over-enthusiastic Rhodes) which have not been implemented or used. Originally, there were to be considerably more episodes made by the duo - the original plan as outlined by the two was for there to be two ten-episode series (consisting of opening, eight "normal" episodes, and ending) and a third, six episode series, featuring Treasure's Doctor mainly (as it was extrapolated that Rhodes would be able to fit filming for two series in and could come back briefly to film his segments for the third). Some of the plans for these now-lost episodes included a religious fanatic alien species who revered Time Lords as Angels, a stint for the "Isabelle" character as a full time companion, and some other ideas that are being repurposed for different fan-film projects elsewhere (on which, more will be revealed at a different time). Among the more outlandish abandoned ideas was that of an "in-between" Doctor, to be filmed by Rhodes while he was at University, set between Xth and Nth - this was ultimately decided against, as it was felt that this would destroy the mystery of what challenges the Doctor faced between Treasure's Doctor and Rhodes'. This idea woodland have seen Treasure's tenure conclude with his Doctor regenerating, to be replaced by an actor of Rhodes' choosing at university. It was this plot point that originally inspired the change in Treasure's costume between "Encounter" and "Hunted", as the leather coat he sports in that is Rhodes' and could be easily transferred to university. In addition, several further episodes where the Xth and Nth Doctor's meet were altered or removed, as these were believed unnecessary, since the two meet in "Encounter" and further meetups would dilute the power of a multi-Doctor story. One very strange idea was the idea that certain Multiple-Doctor episodes (now abandoned or repurposed) would in fact have two releases, once under Treasure's Doctor's theme, once under Rhodes' (this when the two still had separate theme tune arrangements) - these separate versions would also have different scenes and emphasis to them. Although this idea was interesting, it was ultimately deemed unnecessary as the separate scripts were too similar to legitimise separate releases. The final scripts were combined to include both sets of scripts and all their constituent scenes, but were re-edited to remove the multi-Doctor aspect in keeping with the "no more multi-Doctor episodes" policy. Future Episodes Future episodes are in the process of being planned. As of yet, all previous plans have been suspended in favour of a different resolution to the Lungbarrow Brothers' series. Some footage from these episodes already exists, but principle photography has yet to commence. 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